"The U.S. already flunked the test and that should be a wakeup call," a former senior U.S. State Department official told Newsweek.

Fighting along the Thailand-Cambodia border has escalated, resulting in numerous casualties and mass displacement. China attributes the conflict's roots to historical Western colonialism, offering to mediate.

President Donald Trump said Saturday that Cambodia’s prime minister and the acting prime minister of Thailand had agreed to meet immediately

The latest flare-up started on Thursday, with intense fighting spreading across multiple border areas. Early Saturday, Thailand’s navy joined the army in repelling what it described as incursions by Cambodian troops at three points in eastern Trat province.

The countries continued to trade fire on Friday, and at least 16 people are reported to have been killed.

China has blamed “Western colonialists” for ongoing clashes on the Thai-Cambodian border that have left at least 15 people dead and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes.

Hyper-competition in China's electric vehicle sector is spilling over to its biggest market in Asia, Thailand, as smaller players struggle to compete with dominant BYD , putting ambitious local production plans at risk.